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Publisher's Summary

When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, Ruth Galloway lectures at the University of North Norfolk. She lives happily alone in a remote place called Saltmarsh overlooking the North Sea and, for company; she has her cats Flint and Sparky, and Radio 4. When a child's bones are found in the marshes near an ancient site that Ruth worked on ten years earlier, Ruth is asked to date them.

The bones turn out to be two thousand years old, and DCI Harry Nelson, who called on Ruth for help, is disappointed. He'd hoped they would be the bones of a child called Lucy who's been missing for ten years; he's been getting letters about her ever since. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives more letters.

Soon it becomes clear that Ruth is in grave danger from a killer who knows that her expert knowledge is being used to help the police with their enquiries.

This engaging story is well written and totally captures the hauntingly lonely sea side life the main character has chosen for herself. She is a forensic archeologist working in the field, lecture hall and with the police as a solver of crime. Her work focuses on working out mysteries from the past and present. The story is heavy on nature, mythology, archeology and spookiness in general. I really enjoyed the narration and way the book unfolded. It held my interest-- as any good page turner should. As the first book in a series it bodes well for readers who enjoy crime stories with a dash of odd characters and brooding nature thrown in. But be aware--it is creepy!

The book holds together pretty well and provides a few heart pounding moments. Suspects abound and the author keeps you somewhat guessing. But the heroine does whine a bit, especially about being fat. Some of the action seems very contrived and the hopeful ending is completely unbelievable. To be believable, the story should have taken place over a few months instead of over 10 years. The worst part is the narrator's attempt at a male Norwegian accent. Because of these problems, I hesitate to recommend the book.

I've never been a fan of mysteries, but I loves the author's use of details to provide me with a great picture of the characters and places. LOVED IT. Am now reading the Janus Stone and enjoying it just as much.

Story a bit slow paced at first, but was an interesting view into the life of independent archaeology prof, Ruth Galloway. Is she contented or lonely? I still can't decide. Different worlds to explore here: archaeology and the desolate salt marshs Ruth calls home.

I really enjoyed the plot and found the characters believable. The backdrop of the Norfolk salt marshes created a wonderful damp wind blown atmosphere and in my mind's eye I could see it's beauty and feel it. The narration by Jane McDowell was just right for me. An excellent mystery.

This is the first time I have listened to this author and this reader. It was an engrossing story, a wonderful sense of place, and great characters. And with one exception, the narrator was as good as the story. That exception was the dreadful Scandinavian accent that was totally unnecessary for the character: the descriptions of him were more than sufficient for you to see him as the Viking hippy character he was. But even with that jarring note, I loved this book.

If you could sum up The Crossing Places in three words, what would they be?

Creepy. Suspenseful. Atmospheric.

What other book might you compare The Crossing Places to and why?

It reminded me a little of the Donna Leon series. Inspector Harry Nelson reminded me of Leon's Brunetti - both a little out of shape, gruff, brusque but deep thinkers. This novel had the same strong sense of place - not Venice obviously, but it makes you feel as though you really know the area of the east coast of England where the story is set.

Have you listened to any of Jane McDowell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes I did - I gasped out loud at the ending.

Any additional comments?

Wonderfully creepy and mysterious. I listened to most of this book hiking or driving in bright California sunshine. I still felt as though I was stumbling about on a mud flat in the dark as the unseen riptide roared close by.

A British archeologist digging in the the marshes of Norfolk (northeast coast of England) finds a very old skeleton of a human girl and then finds the body of a recently killed young girl. his is a rather classic English murder mystery that I thought barely worth listening to.

I personally enjoy history/religious/pagan based books I am a great fan of Phil Rickman's Merrily books. Being a science teacher I enjoyed the forensic bits. The forensic archeologist Ruth is a well rounded character who you quickly get to like. The story moves quickly along and although you guess whodonit about half way along it is enjoyable to see how it pans out and who becomes a suspect and the various twists and turns.

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

Adrian

Silsden, United Kingdom

6/5/11

Overall

"Crime and archaeology - what's not to like?!"

This is the first of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway novels I've read, and I'm very, very impressed! As a fan of Phil Rickman, and other pagan/paranormal storytellers, I loved the unusual location of the events - which is beautifully evoked. The plot is complex, but makes sense, and Ruth is a fully rounded, 'real' character - as is DCI Nelson. Although you might guess what happened, and who did it about half way through (the sudden arrival of chapters told from a different point of view is a sort of clue!), it's well worth sticking with the journey. There are already two more Ruth books (The Janus Stone - available from Audible - and The House at Sea's End - hopefully soon available!), and I look forward to reading/listening to both of them - and the others which I'm sure will come in the future!

The reading is well done - some good use of regional accents to deliniate the characters, and perfectly paced- recommended!

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

Linda

London, United Kingdom

9/14/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Archeological based who dun it"

I can't quite make up my mind whether I have read this book a while ago (perhaps from the library as it's certainly not on my bookshelves) - the story did just seem a tad familiar. That would certainly explain why I spotted the bad guy quite early on. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this listen, it was exceptionally well read and I very much liked the Nelson and Ruth characters and relationship - something just a little bit different. Indeed I would agree with other reviewers that all of the characters were sound - as an aging hippy myself (albeit not an academically knowledgeable one) Eric and the guy with the purple cape were spot on. I believe this is the first in a series and I'm just going to look for the next one.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Lotus

PERTH, United Kingdom

2/17/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Couldn't stop listening"

What a great find this author has been, a totally fresh storyline Very well written and the story unfolds and draws you in - lost most of yesterday, listening to this book, and now firmly on to the second book in the series. Both Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson and forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway come across as being real people - almost the UK equivalent to Booth & Brennan, but without the gadgets and squints, and not wanting to spoil the storyline, an bot going to go into details.I would have no problem recommending this to those of us who like a crime novel

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Rogayah

Reading, United Kingdom

6/23/12

Overall

"Gripped by the story"

This is the first time I have come across this author and her forensic archeologist. It was a gripping story of people and the special landscape of the salt marsh near Kings Lynn. Brilliantly read too by Jane McDowell. I shall definitely look for more stories in this series.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Heli

Oulu, Finland

11/12/11

Overall

"Gripping"

I found the main character very easy to identify with, and was immersed in the story right from the beginning. All the other characters were colourful and interesting as well, and the unraveling of the mystery was paced so that I didn't have a chance to get bored along the way. The skillful narration brought all the places, characters and events very vividly before my mind's eye, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Crispin

Tufnell Park, United Kingdom

10/3/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"easy listen"

This is a well balanced book. Unlike the standard, hysterical central character battling relationship breakdown and drink issues which supposedly make them interesting whilst they also have to solve the case, Ruth is believable, realistic and likeable. She does still drink too much and have relationship issues but it is not overdone.The plot and atmosphere move along nicely. If you read a lot of crime fiction you may guess the murderer which is a shame but it is still far better than the vast majority of the books available in this genre. Just the right number of characters and plot twists to make it interesting without it becoming a headache to follow. Cant stand other books where the author makes whole village potential suspects to keep you guessing, that is just lazy. So in summary - recommended.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Kathycrewe

5/25/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"excellent"

I was gripped right from the first chapter - and this lasted till the last chapter. I stayed awake well past midnight listening because I couldn't leave it alone I've now bought the 2nd book!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

MR

Nottingham, United Kingdom

1/10/12

Overall

"I Dig This Book"

This was a real punt: an author I had not heard of, and a review which put me off a little. It was certainly a worthwhile gamble in the end. Griffiths paints a vivid picture of the Norfolk coast and populates it with likeable andinteresting characters.

I am looking forward to the next to books, both already on my wishlist. If you like your crime thrillers with well-written and well-researched settings then give this a whirl.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Barbara

Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom

12/3/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"promising first in series"

What did you like best about The Crossing Places? What did you like least?

The setting and the characters I liked.I disliked the repeated references to the main character being fat, single and a cat owner. Must have been in every chapter. Why?

Would you ever listen to anything by Elly Griffiths again?

Yes. Reviews suggest the books get better. I like the setting and the theme so will consider them promising. I hope later novels will have less obvious outcomes.

How could the performance have been better?

Accents. Disliked generic northern and the Norfolk accent sounded more like generic west country.

Was The Crossing Places worth the listening time?

For its potential. The plot was predictable very early.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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